Sitting in second place in the North division, the Laval Rocket started an important back-to-back against the Toronto Marlies on Friday night at Place Bell. With the Marlies just behind them in the standings, this pair of games wouldn’t exactly determine playoff seeding, but are surely worth a little more than your average game in December.
The first period started out with a pretty clear physical edge to it, with both teams looking to establish some strong checking. The rochet were getting the better of the play early, getting pucks deep and using their forecheck to create some decent chances. Unfortunately about seven minutes in, the Marlies needed just one rush chance – a nice passing play completed by Nick Abruzzese – and the Rocket were staring down a 1-0 deficit.
Laval would really ramp up the pressure after the goal, eventually forcing Mikko Kokkonen to take a blatant holding penalty, giving the Rocket power play a chance to equalize. But for all the pressure the Rocket were applying at even strength, they inexplicably fumbled their way through that opportunity, after which Florian Xhekaj would find himself in the box for a holding penalty of his own. They managed to kill that off, which coincidentally took up about all the time remaining in the first period.
They would have to start the second period short handed yet again, however, as Sean Farrell took an ill-advised tripping penalty as time expired in the first. That said, Alex Steeves would take one of his own to make it four-on-four, and that proved to be advantageous for Laval. Owen Beck would do it all himself, stealing the puck and firing a quick shot to tie the game at one.
The tie was short-lived, however, as Steeves would get a breakaway coming out of the box, and made no mistake restoring the one-goal lead for Toronto. To make matters worse, Jakub Dobes injured himself on the stretch to make the save, and immediately left the game, with Connor Hughes coming in to replace him without much of a warm up.
But the Rocket fought back. A solid shot from Alex Barré-Boulet gave Artur Akhtyamov some trouble, and while he was trying to find a way to cover the rebound, Joshua Roy deposited it into the net, tying the game once again at two.
Once more, the Rocket turned up the pressure dial as far as they could, and the Marlies responded in kind. It was an intense period from that point, but neither team was able to find the time or space to manufacture another goal, so we headed to a decisive third period with the game locked up at 2-2.
The third period saw both teams come out somewhat tentatively, intent on avoiding any major mistakes. Both teams took minor penalties, and both teams were successful at killing off those minor penalties. Neither team was able to find the opening they were looking for, so we headed to overtime to find a winner.
Overtime solved nothing, so we went to the shootout to determine the winner. It went into extra shooters, and after Rafael Harvey-Pinard was stopped, Cedric Paré – who had been mercilessly booed all night – put a shot through the five-hole to end the game.
It was a disappointing result for the Rocket, but they’ll get a chance to avenge it tonight, once again at Place Bell.
Thoughts
- If the Habs needed, or even just wanted to, they could get solid minutes from Owen Beck in the NHL tonight. Luckily, they don’t need him, because his development in the AHL is going swimmingly. He could become one of their better AHL success stories in a long time if this keeps up. He looks like the upgraded version of Jake Evans, and that is the kind of player that you find on championship teams. They’re cooking something very good in Laval with Beck.
- Joshua Roy’s short NHL stint may have left something to be desired, but he didn’t miss a beat reintegrating himself in the AHL lineup. He might be ready for the NHL now, but it just seemed to be the wrong time. For now, him continuing to be a contributor in the AHL will suffice.
- I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Luke Tuch plays a thankless brand of hockey that should work in the NHL one day. If your hope is for him to become a top six scorer, you’ll be very disappointed. If you’re a realist, and you understand the value that a big body checker who knows his role and loves to play it can provide, you’ll see what I see. This guy has annoyingly-good fourth liner written all over him.
- Not sure what happened with Jakub Dobes, but it didn’t look great. Connor Hughes played well in his stead, but seeing Dobes go down with no contact suggests some kind of ligament injury. We’ll have to wait and see, but I sincerely doubt he’s dressed for today’s game.
- Cedric Paré declined about eight invitations to fight in that game, then taunted the crowd after his shootout winner. I don’t respect that, and I wonder if he’s going to get the luxury of an invitation to fight tomorrow. It could get ugly, and frankly, he invited it upon himself.
